Appleton police say they received three 911 calls about the pair that appeared around 9 a.m. with the rifles.

Much of the situation was recorded and posted to YouTube, setting Internet discussion groups ablaze debating the situation - with many claiming the police overreacted and violated constitutional rights.

Charles A. Branstrom and Ross A. Bauman claimed they were carrying the guns for self-defense. After police identified them as real, police drew their guns, briefly detained the men and checked identification and paperwork. The men were also legally carrying concealed pistols. Both were released without tickets.

An officer asked, "Where are you guys headed, the farmer's market?" The officer also asked why he was creating a disturbance.

And one man responded: "Yeah, we are going to do some shopping ... I guess some people don't like guns."

In 911 tapes, concerned residents described the "suspicious individuals" that parked at Walgreens. An anxious-sounding worker for the store described the men to a dispatcher.

Another reported the men walking, "I don't know if they're real guns, but I thought I should report this," the man said. A third called reporting the men wearing assault rifles on their back, concerned they were headed for the farmer's market.

"They could be Airsoft, I don't know," the caller said. "I didn't see an orange tip (on the gun)."

"No person may carry or display a facsimile firearm in a manner that could reasonably be expected to alarm, intimidate, threaten or terrify another person," the ordinance says.

Alderman Curt Konetzke, who was selling breakfast sandwiches at his booth at the farmer's market last Saturday, defended the police action.

"The police are there to protect the public and this could have been an extremely serious situation. It scared a lot of people," Konetzke said. "I have no qualms about what they did. It caused a lot of nervousness - my wife and daughter were at the event, it could have been a disaster."

Konetzke said he expects the city to vigorously defend any legal challenge of the detainment. In 2011, the City of Madison paid a $10,000 settlement to a group of gun activists that sued police over a stop at a Culver's restaurant.

Appleton police have been tightlipped about the situation that could bring legal challenges.

Both men were cooperative, police reports say.

Police told Branstrom and Bauman "that walking into a farmer's market filled with a couple thousand individuals would be a recipe for disaster."

Branstrom and Bauman maintained that they had the right to do so, the report says.

Police consulted with Outagamie County Deputy District Attorney Melinda Tempelis, who had the opinion they couldn't be charged with disorderly conduct "as they had not made it to the farmer's market at that point," reports say.

Officers also contacted farm market organizers, who said they didn't want anyone carrying weapons within the event area.

An officer followed Branstrom and Bauman back to their vehicles, which were parked in a lot. They loaded up their firearms and left.

Erich Pratt, spokesman for Viriginia-based Gun Owners of America, said the open-carry tactic has been successful in educating the public about gun rights in other cities.

"In Georgia they have rallies at the state capitol and people bring AR-15s over their shoulders. The first year they detained the lead organizers and people freaked out, and now it's just a common thing," Pratt said. "People are a lot safer when there are good guys with guns because bad guys won't want to go to those places."

Appleton alderman Kole Oswald chairs the city's safety and licensing committee. He said the committee will look into the possibility of prohibiting open carry at the farmer's market.

"How could these gun owners expect entire crowds to presume they had the best intentions, with military-style assault weapons?" Oswald said. "I think this gives responsible gun owners a bad name. The vast majority of people with firearms recognize this is a publicity stunt."